20th Panzer Division

The 20th Panzer Division was an armored division of the German Wehrmacht that was active from 15 October 1940 to 8 May 1945 during World War II. The division was created from parts of the German 19th Infantry Division, and it fought exclusively on the Eastern Front, fighting at the Battle of Moscow and the Battle of Kursk. The division suffered heavy losses during Operation Bagration, withdrawing to East Prussia, Hungary, and Silesia. It counterattacked against the Soviets at the Battle of Bautzen in April 1945, rescuing the trapped German garrison, but the division was forced to surrender to the US Army at Rokycany, Czechoslovakia on 8 May 1945 before its prisoners were turned over to the Soviet Union.